A woman found dead in a Norwich flat had been hit repeatedly to the head with a hammer after it is thought she expressed concerns about loud music being played by a neighbour, a court has heard.

Police at the scene of the property in Godric Place in Norwich. Picture Emma Knights.

The body of Farnaz Ali, 49, was found at a flat in Godric Place, off Bowthorpe Road, on Saturday, July 29 2017.

The body of Ms Ali, who was found to have 59 sites of injury, was found in the bathroom of a flat belonging to her neighbour Danny Williams.

Norwich Crown Court heard that officers had been called to Godric Place after they received calls to say a woman’s body might be in there.

After gaining entry to the property officers found the body of Ms Ali - who had been reported missing by her partner the previous evening - in the bathroom of the address.

Police at the scene of the death at a property in Godric Place in Norwich. Picture Emma Knights.

Following the discovery a murder inquiry was launched and Williams, of Godric Place, was charged with murder after being arrested in Lowestoft.

Williams, who denies murder, appeared in court on Tuesday (September 11) for the start of his trial.

Andrew Thompson, opening the prosecution case, said the case involved the “violent murder” of Ms Ali at the home address of Williams, her neighbour.

He said: “You will hear evidence of what we describe as a violent killing.

“The killing was of a neighbour, that’s what Farnaz Ali was to the defendant, nothing more than that, they barely knew each other, certainly not in any detail.”

Mr Thompson said the circumstances that led to the killing were “unclear”.

He said Ms Ali went for a walk, on July 28, at about 7pm “as she was in the habit of doing and she was never to return home again”.

Mr Thompson told the jury of seven women and five men that it was believed she was killed at some point on the Friday evening.

Mr Thompson said she had been “left dead or dying” on the floor of the defendant’s bathroom as he left the address to go to friends in Lowestoft.

Mr Thompson said there’s evidence that Williams “struck her repeatedly to the head with a blunt implement and we say the implement that caused those injuries was a hammer.”

Medical evidence also showed there had been “compression of her neck” as well as other signs of assault on her body.

The pathologist found 59 separate sites of injury to Ms Ali’s body.

The court heard Ms Ali had been reported missing by her partner at about 9.30pm on Friday, July 28 after she failed to return from her walk.

On Saturday, July 29 police received a 999 call from the defendant’s father to say there was “a female seriously injured or dead” on the bathroom floor of Williams’ flat.

It followed a call from the defendant’s mother - who had been contacted by Williams - about the incident.

Just minutes later police in Suffolk received a 101 call from a friend of Williams to say the defendant had told him there was a dead body of a woman in the bathroom of his flat.

Police and paramedics attended Williams’ address in Godric Place and found Ms Ali’s body in the bathroom.

Mr Thompson said Williams had played “loud music” on the Friday afternoon which was exacerbated by the fact he had windows open.

Mr Thompson said Ms Ali had “earlier in the afternoon expressed some concern to her partner about the noise from loud music that was coming from the defendant’s address and it was something that he knew that on at least one previous occasion had been a concern before.”

He said Ms Ali left her address at about 7pm to “go for her regular walk” which was normally 20mins on most evenings.

When Ms Ali failed to return after an hour and a half her partner was becoming anxious about where she might be and went to look for her.

At one point he saw the defendant leaving his address carrying a hold-all.

He returned home when he could not find her he returned home and reported her missing.

Williams was picked up by a taxi at about 8.30pm on Friday, July 26.

He was taken to stay with friends at Windsor Road in Lowestoft.

When he arrived he had told friends what he had done.

He had said he had murdered a woman in his flat and her body was still in the bathroom.

He was carrying two bags, containing bottles of beer, he was “agitated and pacing about”.

Mr Thompson said he was rambling about a murder, a hammer and said they was a dead body in the bathroom.

Williams later tried to burn the hold-all which also contained some blood-stained carpet and a hammer.

A concerned friend called police the following day about what Williams had told him.

It was the second call to police within a few minutes about the murder.

The defendant was later arrested and subsequently charged with murder.